The Disfiguration
In the land of Borja there lived a woman, blameless and upright; she feared God and shunned evil.
By Frederick Gero Heimbach
This work of fiction is based on true events.
I, Pravuil the archangel, was scribe and record-keeper before the LORD. I am he who brought to the man Enoch the parchment, quill, and ink whereby he might record his journey through Heaven. I am he who writeth all the words spoken before the Thrones of God. To me was given the task to record the account of Celia Giménez and Satan, and thus I wrote it.
* * *
There was a woman in the land of Spain, in the town of Borja, whose name was Celia Giménez; and that woman was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil. It did not please God to burden her with great wealth or wisdom, but still she rose early to pray in the Santuario de la Misericordia, the church of that place: for she said, it may be the people of Borja town have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Celia continually.
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, “Whence comest thou?”
Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, “From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”
And the LORD said unto Satan, “Hast thou considered my servant Celia Giménez, that there is none like her in the earth, a perfect and an upright woman, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?”
And Satan Answered the LORD, and said, “Doth Celia fear God verily? For she is an infirm and foolish woman. Her pious prayers are but the confused babbling of the old and the witless. And furthermore, hast thou not made an hedge about her, protecting her from harming herself and others? But put forth thine hand now, and remove thou the protection, and she will blaspheme the LORD such that all the people’s ears will tingle to hear of it.”
And the LORD said unto Satan, “Behold I give you leave; any temptation thou propose from the darkness of thy imagination thou mayest shew unto her. Only upon her body lay thou not thine hand.” So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
And there was a day when Celia was praying in the Santuario de la Misericordia: and Satan came unto her, and unrecognized by her, he spake, and said, “Hast thou beheld the paintings on the walls of this church?”
“I have beheld the paintings,” said Celia, “for they are a fresco which is called Ecce Homo, and also an oil painting of Saint Francis, and they are to my prayers a guide and inspiration, and by their presence God is greatly glorified.”
“Is God glorified?” spake Satan unto Celia. “For the fresco is old and the years have not been kind to it—even as the years have not been kind unto thee, venerable woman.”
And Celia agreed, saying, “Moisture hath damaged the fresco, and much of the image hath flaked off.”
And Satan said to Celia, “Thou ought to say, the fresco is ruined. For the face of the suffering Christ is half fallen off, which grieves me.” For it pleased Satan to see the Christ suffer, although this to Celia he did not confess.”
And Celia said, “Verily, the fresco is ruined.”
And Satan said, “And art thou not a painter? And canst thou not repair what hath been damaged?”
Said Celia, “I am a painter, but of little note.”
And Satan said, “Thou art a painter of prodigious skill, and a restorer of works of art. Consider what thou might do.”
Thus did Celia purpose in her heart to repair the fresco. And so she wet the plaster with water, and took up pigment, and began to restore the image of the suffering Christ with broad strokes of her brush. But before she was finished, she put down her pigments and ceased work for a time, and left Borja town for a season. And of this she repented much later. But Juan Maria Ojeda the town councilor and the priest of the church saw what she had done, and were sorely vexed.
And when Celia heard of their anger, she made excuses for herself, and declared she would complete the repairs, and that all would be well if she were suffered to finish what she had begun. But the priest and the councilor would not permit so, and forbade her to touch the fresco again. And so it hung in the church, an ugly display. But Celia did not cease to say her daily prayers.
Again, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.
And the LORD said unto Satan, “Whence comest thou?”
And Satan answered the LORD, and said, “From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”
And the LORD said unto Satan, “Hast thou considered my servant Celia Giménez, that there is none like her in the earth, a perfect and an upright woman, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Thou deceived her, and moved her to mar my image, to shame her, and to provoke the anger of her neighbors toward her. And yet she glorifies me.”
And Satan said to the LORD, “Is this what thou callest glory? Ecce Homo! Behold, the man!” And he hurled down before the feet of the Son of God a sheet of paper, even a printout of an article from the internet. And Satan laughed, and mocked Celia, and would have even dared to mock God, were such a thing possible before the very thrones of God.
And Satan spake unto the Son of God, and said, “Behold the story this website tells, that causeth the whole world to laugh at this the work of thy servant’s hands, the work done with such piety and eagerness to please. For it is the nature of this internet for all manner of foolishness to be broadcast about, for the tickling of the ears of the idle. Yea, read the printout! And learn from it how thy face in the extremity of thy agony is likened.”
“I can read,” said the Son of God. “I can read papers, and parchments, and rock inscriptions. I can read words written with pens and brushes and chisels and moveable type. I can read messages in the knotted ropes of the Inca, in marks pressed into the clay tablets of the Sumerians, in the tapping of a telegraph and in electrons passed from computing machine to computing machine. I can read words burned into the sky with lasers. I can read all that thou canst read, and I can read more: For I can read the human heart.”
And Satan said to the Son of God, “If thou wilt not read it, let me recite it unto thee, for I remember each word.” And thus quoth Satan, “An icon of Christ hath been disfigured in a one-of-a-kind nineteenth century fresco displayed in the church of Borja, a village in northwest Spain. The art work, titled ‘Ecce Homo,’ originally portrayed Jesus wearing a crown of thorns. The fine details of the painting were obliterated by crude brushstrokes, resulting in a face far different from the original. Officials in Borja initially expressed outrage at the apparent vandalism, only to learn the act was a well-intentioned attempt at restoration. Celia Giménez, an 80-year-old amateur painter from the area, came forward to admit it was she who painted over the original, saying she wanted to repair damage caused by decades of humidity. She claims she acted with the full knowledge of the priest at the Santuario de Misericordia church. The present image, which hath been compared to a monkey or even a potato, was posted to the internet and quickly went viral. Despite the outrage expressed by thousands, Juan Maria Ojeda, the city councilor in charge of arts and culture, was quick to defend Celia’s good intentions, although she will not be permitted to make further modifications of the painting.”
The Son of God said, “I see no wrongdoing.”
And Satan said to the Son of God, “She hath disgraced thee and madest thou to look ridiculous. People from every corner of the earth are laughing at thee, and they make mockery of thy name thereby.”
But the LORD said to Satan, “I am mocked by no work of any child of mine, when it is made in loving devotion. Celia’s painting is beautiful to me as her soul is beautiful to me.”
And Satan yet scoffed, and said, “She is an old woman and a half-wit.”
And the LORD said to Satan, “Begone, thou who slandereth my beloved daughter. This audience is ended.” And so Satan departed, with a mocking smile and yet with eyes downcast.
But in one thing, Satan spake the truth: For many people did hear reports of what Celia had done, and many did see a copy of the fresco as it was dispatched to the screens of their computing machines in diverse cities throughout the Earth. And many did laugh, and others marveled at what they considered to be her lack of skill, and in that respect they were not altogether wrong. And, behold: many were they who even journeyed to Borja from far lands, even distant climes and all the diverse islands of the sea. In so doing they beheld the marred painting with their own eyes. And thus the small village received what was to them a great multitude of visitors. And Borja became almost as it were a place of pilgrimage. And many there were who mocked the painting when they saw it, and few there were, so it would seem, who gave greater glory to God because of it. But Celia continued to call upon the name of the LORD.
Again, there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.
And the LORD said unto Satan, “Whence comest thou?” And Satan answered the LORD, and said, “From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”
And the LORD said unto Satan, “Hast thou considered my servant Celia Giménez, that there is none like her in the earth, a perfect and an upright woman, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Still she honors me with her daily prayers, although she hath received much scorn for the work she hath done in my name, and for my glory.”
And Satan said to the LORD, “Verily art thou glorified? For hast thou not heard? The town of Borja hath received so many visitors, the officials there are rejoicing. Those who come to mock Celia’s painting and laugh at thy hideous visage are spending much coin in the local inns and taverns. The church is now a favored destination for vulgar tourists, and doth profit also thereby. The town fathers congratulate themselves in their newfound wealth even as thy name is disgraced. And I recall a time when money changers were found in the Temple in Jerusalem, and thou wert greatly vexed thereby, and thou madest a spectacle of thyself, and lost thy temper.”
And the Son of God said unto Satan, “Wrathful I was, but my wrath is only ever just, as it was on the day of which thou speakest. And as my Father approves of all I do, the disapproval of man or god means nothing to me. And indeed, I have looked into the heart of Celia and found no avarice there, nor any desire for dishonest gain. I have looked upon her heart and found it beautiful. And I have looked upon the painting she hath restored and I am honored by it.”
And Satan said unto the LORD, “Dost thou refuse to see the painting for what it is? It is the likeness of a potato. Or a hedgehog. Or a monkey. Art thou claiming it is a true likeness? Is that hideous visage thine?”
And the Son of God said to Satan, “Look thou upon my face and see for thyself.” Now, the Son of God said this, for Satan’s eyes were downcast. And so always they were, whenever Satan ceased his going to and fro in the earth, that he might present himself before the thrones of God. For it is impossible that Satan ever behold the glory of the LORD. And neither would he willingly gaze upon the face of the Son of God on this occasion, nor would he gladly look into the eyes of the one who sits at the right hand of the LORD Almighty.
And again, the Son of God said to Satan, “Look upon my face. For thus I command thee, and thus thou art compelled to obey. And I swear by my glory, thou wilt not be slain thereby.”
And thus Satan was compelled so to do, though he raised his eyes only after much complaint, and cries of dismay, and the shielding of his eyes with his hairy foreleg. And at last Satan looked upon the face of the Son of God. And first he cried out in dread, and next he cried out in amazement, and finally he cried out a third time, and this last was a shout of mockery.
And Satan said to the LORD, “Thine is the face of the painting. Thine is the face of a monkey.”
And the Son of God said unto Satan, “Look with care before thou declarest what it is thou beholdest. For this is my true face.”
And Satan turned his face away from the Son of God, and said, “I have gazed long enough. I know what I behold. Thy face is like unto a potato.”
And the Son of God said to Satan, “What thou hast seen is the face I will reveal unto Celia Giménez on the day I raise her to new life. And on that day she will be like me, for she will see me as I am.”
And Satan said to the LORD, “On that day she will laugh. For thy appearance is ridiculous. Thus I mock—”
But even as Satan spake those words, the seraphim rose up, those angels who never depart from the Thrones of God, but who day and night continually cry,
“HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is the LORD God Almighty!”
And so it was, because in his Heaven and before his throne God may not be mocked, the seraphim took hold of Satan, who is called the Serpent, and the Devil, and cast him out from before the presence of God. And he fell from that lofty height with a cry of anguish so great, the devils in their dungeons cried out in terror along with their king, and people throughout the earth also paused in their business or leisure to look about themselves with apprehension, or to mutter a prayer to ward off evil. And never again, when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, did Satan dare to stand among them, nor speak to the LORD, nor even look upon the face of the Son of God.
* * *
Thus I, Pravuil, archangel, recorded all that was spoken before the thrones of God concerning the woman Celia Giménez. And because many were the words spoken, and in haste, I was much distracted with my task of writing. And so it was that my head was bowed over my writing desk until such time that Satan was cast out, and I knew he would return never, and my task for a time was at an end. And so I looked up, and beheld, even with mine own eyes, the face of the Son of God, even Jesus who is called the Christ. And I cried out in amazement and no little dread.
But the seraphim continued their worship, and were joined by the voices of the four and twenty elders, and even the cherubim, and angels and archangels, virtues and principalities, dominions and powers, and every rank of the sons of God, the divine council, and the whole company of heaven. And thus the music of Heaven rang upon my ears so I was scarcely able to think, or to understand what I beheld.
And yet, I did see: And thus I said unto the Son of God, “Hail, Gladdening Light! For thou art beautiful, and fairest of Heaven, and fairer now than thou wert before, and fairer than ever I imagined possible.”
And the Son of God received my praise, and he blessed me for it. But I marveled even as I worshiped, and I said, “I pray you, let me understand: whom was it Satan beheld? What visage of sad deformity did he espy?”
And the Son of God raised his nail-scared hand, and the hosts of Heaven fell silent. And he said, “It was mine!” And all Heaven shook at the sound of his voice. And he spake furthermore, saying, “Satan beheld what he was apt to behold. But unto thee, and unto all who are with me, is given the clearer eye and the truer sight.”
And having heard, I bowed my head, and the seraphim resumed their singing, and I added unto theirs the sound of my awestruck praise.
Frederick Gero Heimbach lives a pulp fiction life and takes notes. His family lives with him, warily, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is the author of six novels. Find him on X/Twitter as @Fredosphere and on his much neglected website fheimbach.com.
Copyright © 2025 Frederick Gero Heimbach & Incensepunk Magazine
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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