Dear Father:

As to confession before Baptism I stated that I was not sure about that. When I came into the Church I had already been baptized. Thanks for the clarification.

I will have to disagree with you, however, on the resurrection of Lazarus. One does not "resuscitate" a three-four day old rotting corpse.  While resuscitation does refer to "bringing back to life" its usage refers to those situations in which reviving a person is possible, that is, normally within a few minutes of technical death. There is a point in time when resuscitation, which is not a miracle, is no longer possible and death irreversible. It is at this point that reviving the dead body requires the miracle of resurrection. There is a difference, however, between the resurrection of Lazarus and that of Christ, which I will mention later.

We see from the Scriptures that Jesus delayed coming to the tomb of Lazarus precisely for this reason — to give no doubt before the people that Lazarus was indeed dead so there could be no claim of resuscitation.

The word "resuscitation" is an inaccurate and improper word to use here. To suggest that this word is commonly used is news to me. I have not once heard anyone, or read any document, or read any saint ever use the word resuscitation. Now, of course, I have not read every document in existence, but this is the first time I have heard of this suggestion. 

Common or not, the word does not apply.

The Navarre Bible Commentary gives an appropriate explanation (comments in brackets are mine):

This chapter deals one of Jesus' most outstanding miracles [resuscitation would not be an outstanding miracle]. The Fourth Gospel, by including it, demonstrate Jesus is power over death, which the Synoptic Gospels showed by reporting the raising of the daughter of Jairus (Matthew 9:25 and par.) and of the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:12).

The evangelists first sets the scene (vv. 1-16); then he gives Jesus' conversation with Lazarus' sisters (vv. 17-37); finally, he reports the raising of Lazarus four days after his death (vv. 38-45). Bethany was only about 3 kilometres (two miles) from Jerusalem (c. 18) [thus showing that Jesus could have gotten to Lazarus earlier]. On the days prior to his passion, Jesus often visited this family, which he was very attached. St. John records Jesus' affection (vv. 3, 5, 36) by describing his emotion and sorrow at the death of his friend.

By raising Lazarus our Lord shows his divine power over death and thereby gives proof of his divinity, in order to confirm his disciples' faith and reveal himself as the Resurrection and the Life [resuscitation could not of accomplished this which is the point of Jesus waiting before resurrecting Lazarus]. Most Jews, but not the Sadducees, believed in the resurrection of the body. Martha believed in it (cf. v. 24).

Apart from being a real, historical event, Lazarus' return to life is a sign of our future resurrection [not resuscitation]: we too will return to life. Christ, by his glorious resurrection to which he is the "first-born from the dead" (1 Corinthians 15:20; Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5), is also the cause and model of our resurrection. In this his resurrection is different from that of Lazarus, for "Christ being raised from the dead will never die again" (Romans 6:9), whereas Lazarus returned to earthly life, later to die again.

There is one correction, or clarification, to my speculation about how Lazarus appeared at the entrance of his tomb. According to the Navarre Bible commentary the tomb "consisted of a subterranean chamber linked to the surface by steps, with the entrance blocked by a slab. Lazarus was moved out to the entrance by a supernatural force." That being the case the burial wrappings may indeed have been such that Lazarus would not have been able to walk even small steps.

The bottom line is that Lazarus was certainly dead, well beyond the possibility of resuscitation. Jesus made sure of that. Lazarus was resurrected, but it is true that the nature of his resurrection was different than that of Christ's as detailed in the commentary. Because there is a difference between the resurrection of Lazarus and that of Christ does not mean that Lazarus was not resurrected. By definition he was resurrected, that is, raised from the dead, and not resuscitated from some sort of temporary or apparent death.

I must also take issue with your description of a General Confession. As a stated in Father Harden's Modern Catholic Dictionary, a General Confession is:

Most commonly, it means a private confession where the penitent (exceptionally) resolves to confess as far as he or she can all past sins, and not only those since the last confession. The practice is recommended when a person is entering on a new state of life -- the priesthood, religious life, or marriage -- and is required in some religious institutes by rule to be done annually.

It it true that the General Confession is different than the Sacrament of Confession, but to compare it with fifth step in Alcoholics Anonymous is, in my opinion, imprudent; just as imprudent as making a comparison of some Catholic tradition with some similar practice in Buddhism or Hinduism. There may be similarities, but it is imprudent to make that case.

As for AA, it is a system of lies and distortions which have little connection with Christianity, and in some instances is antithetical to Christianity (e.g., "higher power." Satan is a higher power than us). Bill Wilson himself, admitted to outright bald-faced lies in his construction of AA. 

Instead of making such a comparison with a non-Christian group it is best to use a precise definition that is accurate and Catholic, as Father Hardon's precise definition.

Actually, Father, that is the problem here, a lack of precision in language. When it comes to these sorts of issues, theological and doctrinal issues, we must be as precise as possible, for to do otherwise is to give an unintentional implication to error, or at least to the imprecision that can cause confusion. This is why I qualified my statement about confession before baptism. Resuscitation was not the correct word as I have demonstrated here. Comparison with Alcoholics Anonymous was, if nothing else, in my opinion, imprudent.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary