Texus - there is so much to comment on in your posts - I think Selene and I are going to address each one individually and that is going to make it difficult to follow up. I think I will pick on of your questions and we can talk about it.
2. Prayer to the Saints: If you believe that Christ is the only mediator as you pointed out, then why do you ask your family and friends to pray for you? Why not go directly to God Himself and pray to Him directly?
You included a prayer to Mary that appears to be over the top, but is actually quite common in the liturgy and monasteries that hold Mary in high esteem. I understand why you have some concerns about holding Mary up to highly and frankly some groups have been confronted by the Pope for going overboard. Admittedly, it was a real concern for me when I was checking out Catholicism before I joined.so I went beyond the typical Catholic reasoning back into history for answers. Unfortunately, I have two meetings I have to go to right now so I will return later.
Ok - I am back. As I was saying, it took more than the average answer for me to understand the big deal about Mary - although I understood why Catholics prayed to saints so let me deal with that now
1. Saints are not dead - Luke 20:38: He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”
2. We are one Body in Christ - Romans 12:5: so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
3. There is no division - 1 Corinthians 12:25: so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.
4. Ephesians 4:4: There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;
5. Romans 8: [sup]38[/sup] For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[sup][k][/sup] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, [sup]39[/sup] neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
6. Hebrews 12:1: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
7. Revelation 6:9-11: [sup]9[/sup] When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. [sup]10[/sup] They called out in a loud voice, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?” [sup]11[/sup]Then each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to wait a little longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers and sisters,[sup][e][/sup] were killed just as they had been.
So here is the deal - We are one body with Christ - death doesn't divide us because time is really an illusion - we are actually all not created yet, living our lives and at the throne of God, right now - surrounded by a cloud of witnesses (the rest of our undivided Body). Time is only a product of space and living in this dimension. Also, God is the God of the living because we are already raised and worshiping Him. Jesus could talk with Moses and Elijah for the same reason. This is the same reason that the Eucharist is not a repeated sacrifice, but a one time event - it only appears like an echo (repeating) because of the illusion of time across space. God simply stretched creation out - creating space - this moment has happened before, now and later. Time and space are static to God - He is omnipresent.
So asking our friends and family for prayer is the same as asking the rest our Body for prayer - time and death are not relevant. Also, we do not pray to Judas because we do not believe he is part of the Body - he was pruned away from the vine. We could be wrong, but based on his life and death we have made an educated guess.
Ok - so that is saints - now I will work on Mary.