Being a God of the living and not the dead does not mean we should pray to those alive in Christ who are in Heaven. It means those who believed in Him have life ever after.
As a Protestant, my biggest issue with the Catholic Church is it seems the the vast majority of their prayers are to Mary, not Jesus or God. I don’t see how that reconciles I with John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
Mary has a special place in history; she willingly submitted to God’s call on her life. And that calling was huge. But so have many others throughout history.
That's an interesting comment, 5thGen, but it does not match the way the Catholic Church actually prays.
If you have the opportunity to attend a Mass in the future --- or you could google the text --- you will notice that Mary is mentioned ONCE the hour-long service which is the official public prayer of the Church, and even then she does not get even a whole sentence to herself. Here's the text:
I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done
and in what I have failed to do,
through my fault,
through my fault,
through my most grievous fault;
therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,
all the Angels and Saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God
This prayer, called the Confiteor, is a classic example of intercessory prayer through the Communion of Saints.