[Conservative til I die]

If you ask someone to pray for you, they are before you and you see them. When you pray to those who are dead, it requires an act of faith. One doesn't have faith in men, whether living or dead; one has faith in God and His son Jesus Christ.

You've subtly confused definitions of the word "faith". You are correct that asking for prayer from someone who is dead requires faith. However, faith means in this instance a belief in something that has no rational explanation. It is not the same as faith in God, which relates to His message and promises of Salvation if we believe in Him.

However, in both cases faith in the former feeds off faith in the latter. We Catholics believe the saints are alive in Heaven in spirit but not body, simply because we believe the Trinitarian God exists and that Christ meant what He said when He said that those that believe in Him will be alive with Him in Heaven and never die, even if their bodies should expire and decay. And conversely, we have faith that God listens to our prayers, even those brought to His attention on our behalf by His beloved saints.

[William Terrell]

Faith is belief in those things not seen, Hebrews 11:1-13. A person living is before you and requires no faith. A person dead and vanished from sight requires faith.

Pray to God through Christ, and let the saints attend to their own business. If you are a righteous man, your prayer availeth much, but if you are not, a dead saint will not help you.