Do Catholics Pray to Saints?

The Argonauta Book Club meeting went well.  The Argonauts didn't eat very much, but that just means that the people at Work will.  (I'll bring the left-overs to work today.)  I was telling everyone about my plans to go to the beatification of Pere Marie Jean Joseph Lataste, O.P.  This was an opportunity to explain the process of sainthood.  But more than that, it brought up the subject of religion.

Three of the Argonauts are married to Catholics.  One said that her Catholic husband always attended the Episcopal Church's Mass with her.  But he said that's as low as he will go.  (There was an "o-o-oh, tsk, tsk.) Another said that her husband attends his Catholic Mass once in awhile, and he never goes to her Universalist church.  The last Argonaut lady said that her husband always attends Sunday Catholic Mass but he won't go with her to her church.  (I didn't choose to enter into the fray.)

But my Episcopal friend in discussing "how low" her husband's standards had fallen was explaining that there were very few differences between Catholics and Episcopalians.  One diff was that Episcopals don't pray to saints (since I had been talking about the beatification of Fr. Lataste.)

"Oh...oh, do Catholics pray to saints, I was asked."

I explained it's not the same as when we pray to God.  I said that Catholics think of saints as friends just as I was talking to my Argonaut friends,  Catholics may talk (which is a definition of prayer) to saints.  After all, we believe that death is the beginning of a new life.  So we're not praying to dead people, but to people alive with Christ.  Our friendships don't end in death; I'll consider the Argonauts my friends in heaven.  And I'll be talking with them then, too.