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.
Poor ol' Joe.
Never DID get to have a REAL marriage.
I am looking from the outside in, but one thing does stand out in my mind in this prayer and in discussions of prayers with my Catholic friends: you ask Mary and the Saints to pray to God for you, not you praying to God directly. The way I see it, the veil has been lifted; we no longer need to approach God thru intermediaries like the High Preists or the Saints. We are told to boldly go directly to the Throne ourselves.
I do get that intercessory prayer is important. Praying for each other here is a bonding opportunity between the members of the Body of Christ. We gain intimacy with each other by sharing those personal moments of praise and sorrow. God wants us to grow closer together as a body and praying for each other helps accomplish this goal.
I just don't see how praying to those who have gone to Heaven before us accomplishes anything for the Body of Christ. Thank you again for the discussion.