Catholics, despite what you may have been told, do not pray to Mary or the saints. We ask for their intervention.
"The witnesses who have preceded us into the kingdom, [Cf. Heb 12:1 .] especially those whom the Church recognizes as saints, share in the living tradition of prayer by the example of their lives, the transmission of their writings, and their prayer today. They contemplate God, praise him and constantly care for those whom they have left on earth. When they entered into the joy of their Master, they were 'put in charge of many things.' [Cf. Mt 25:21.] Their intercession is their most exalted service to God's plan. We can and should ask them to intercede for us and for the whole world."
Catechism of the Catholic Church 2683
While He was dieing on the Cross, Jesus entrusted His mother to us. She leads all men to her Son. In every icon of Mary with the Child Jesus, you will notice that she points to Him, not herself.
Catholics, despite what you may have been told, do not pray to Mary or the saints. We ask for their intervention.
I think this is not quite true. Pray means nothing more than to ask humbly. It comes from the Latin which translates as 'to entreat.' Therefore we Catholics actually do pray to Mary. I understand what you are trying to do in drawing a distinction between how we pray to our Lady and how we pray to the Lord. I think you are right in seeing a distinction there. However, I cannot agree that it would mean we don't pray to the saints at all. The problem is not that we pray, but that we haven't helped people understand why doing so is right and proper, which it of course is.