Catholics, like all Christians believe in life after death, of going to heaven to be with God. They believe that those who have lived in the faith of God, will go to heaven to share in His Resurrection.
While we live in this earth we live in Communion with God and with the other members of the Body of Christ . that communion doesn't end in death, so we are still in communion with those that are deemed worthy to be accepted into heaven. Catholics believe that the Saints that are in heaven remain in direct Communion with man on earth. So that is why we approach Saints like we would a friend asking for a favor. The Saints are closer to God and because they are men, they represent something we can look up to.
Some Non-Catholic Christians believe it is wrong to pray to the Saints. They argue that prayers should be directed to God alone, and not to men. It might be that they are confusing prayer with worship. While we ask Saints to pray for us, we pray to God. While we do pray to Saints, it is asking them to pray for us infront of God, seeing that God is the main object of our Worship. If a Catholic prays, it is asking for help, like strength or his favor to fulfill a task that He might deem good.
We should Never worship another man, because man is not good enough to be worshiped. Worship may take the form of prayer, but prayer is not always worship. Catholics pray to the Saints to help them or to thanks them for something that has been given to them.
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