What exactly do Catholics believe?

I don't know if believing in Saints is the correct way to look at how Catholics view people who make it to Sainthood. Saints are virtuous people who we as Catholics look up to as an example of how to lead a Christian life. We do not worship Saints but we do honor and respect them. The Catholic Church has been formally recognizing saints since the second century. At that time, individuals became saints based more on popular demand than any sort of formal process. Because of this, the list of saints grew quickly. Reforms instituted at Vatican II pared down the list of saints celebrated worldwide in the liturgy. The “saint-making” process, overseen by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, has also been revised. There are three steps necessary for a person to become a saint. First, the person must be named Venerable, which means he or she exhibited heroic virtues in life. Before moving on to beatification, the person must have a miracle attributed to him or her. Once such a miracle is confirmed, the person is known as Blessed. For the final step before canonization, the individual must have yet another miracle attributed to his or her intercession—unless he or she was a martyr for the faith. Only then is a person canonized and added to the list of saints. Often people will say Catholics worship saints. Actually, it’s more of a “looking up to” them as examples of how we should live. Paintings or statues of these saints serve as visual reminders for us to emulate the saints in our own lives. We pray to saints for their intercession, which is like asking a friend of God to ask God for a favor.

Why not ask God himself? Thats what I'm confused about. Like praying to the Virgin Mary. I just don't understand. I've always prayed directly to God. And then there are those who pray to saints to help them find things.. and so on. Again, why not pray to God, and ask him.

Its not just for a random discussion, I want to know because its interesting and I like to learn about different religions. I want to know why people are catholic instead of something else. Why choose to be a part of that religion? What draws you into it. What do you believe? It seems that the family and friends I have that are catholic, go to church, yes, but they dont seem to live the lives that they are taught about. like, they go to church and then forget about it until the next time they have to go. Its all over the place for me. I'm curious to know about it.

Thanks for the reply.. Thats what I'm confused about.. I hear one thing from someone, and another that is completely opposite from another about what they believe. I know everyone picks and chooses what they want to believe, but I'd think it would be close to the same thing?

So I'm still confused as to what they believe....