The artworks in the Franciscan Calendar 2027 are a collaborative effort by husband and wife, Joseph Ng Swee Hong and Susan Toh Li Chuin, who are parishioners of the Church of St Mary of the Angels. The project was an opportunity for them to work together, complementing each other’s artistic skills that were shaped by their studies in Florence, where they completed their master’s degree in sacred art in 2025.
They shared that the invitation to create these artworks felt like a gentle nudge from the Lord. For Joseph, this meant revisiting the more than 3,000 daily sketches he has drawn since December 2017. He began this practice during his morning prayer, using Lectio Divina and following the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar, to remember God’s word. Browsing through the 43 volumes of sketchbooks turned out to be an emotional pilgrimage. As he flipped through the pages, he relived the highs and lows of his faith journey, beginning as a neophyte about 10 years ago. Each sketch contains a memory, a personal message, or a struggle at that moment in time, yet each also points to God’s love and guidance through the scriptures over the past nine years.
As they reviewed the sketches, they were reminded that God is an active Father who never stopped seeking them when they strayed. For example, the sketch chosen for the theme of Gratitude for the month of November shows Joseph and Susan as two little children at prayer. Just as the Israelites were called out of slavery in Egypt, God called them out of a life and profession they had pursued for over two decades to draw them closer to Him in a different vocation. Though their path ahead was fraught with uncertainty, the angel of the Lord sheltered them beneath her wings, a sign of divine protection and guidance. Joseph’s sketches were visual prayers, a way of seeing God’s hand at work in their lives, leading them forward with hope and teaching them to trust in His providence.
For Susan, this was a prayerful opportunity to enter into Joseph’s dialogue with the Lord while revisiting their shared moments through each sketch. Adding watercolour to his reflection sketches became an act of companionship rather than simply an artistic task. By bringing colour and warmth to his drawings, she hoped to make more visible the meanings, emotions, and prayer present within each sketch. For example, in the sketch selected for the theme of Compassion for the month of July, the miracle of the five loaves and two fishes in Christ’s hands are multiplied into something far greater than themselves and seen as a foreshadowing of the Eucharist. A subtle glow of light is added to draw out this meaning, highlighting the sacredness of the act of offering and depicting Christ’s compassionate love through warm colour tones. He takes what little we have, transforms and multiplies our humble gifts, and gives them back to us in abundant love.
Drawing from their own journey of faith, Susan and Joseph hope that these images will invite quiet reflection on Scripture. They pray that these artworks, rooted in God’s word, will accompany viewers in their daily prayer and, as they encounter them throughout the calendar, help them discover a deeper sense of God’s presence – just as the journey of creating them has deepened their own.
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