'This is the day that the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice.' This is the Gospel acclamation. In Eastertide, we happily echo it. Would we still proclaim such thanksgiving when Easter ends and the everyday chores burden us?

Often we pray about life experiences. We petition God to care for our family and answer our personal needs, like passing exams and finding work. Many pray for the sick or downtrodden. A few pray for those without anyone to pray for them. Sometimes, we complain.

In contrast, thanksgiving prayers focus on what God does. Peter taught that God healed the crippled man because he believed in Jesus. Reading this, some might thank God for the cure, while others for the conversion this healing brought. We are no different: we give thanks when we see concrete signs of God doing good or experience God's action as real.

How about simply giving thanks for God's presence instead? That is, thanking God for being with us rather than His actions for us? I imagine the disciples prayed in thanksgiving after the risen Jesus appeared in their midst. He is the peace of God they needed in their pain. It is said that presence matters more than action. Whenever the risen Jesus is with us, we enjoy God's goodness in our lives. Thanksgiving is better when it rightly praises God for being God-present and with us. How can we not sing praise that Christ is risen and is with us?