Do Roman Catholics believe that the venerated Saints receive special powers from God so they can hear prayers?

We pray to God. We do not pray to saints or the Blessed Virgin "instead" of God. We ask them to pray for us, just as we might ask someone on earth to pray for us.

The word "pray" actually means to petition or ask. It does not denote worship. Protestants tend to think it does because they only pray to God, therefore they think praying to anyone else means worship. But the Church is 2000 years old and people have been asking (praying) the saints to pray for them long before Protestants came along.

Christians in heaven are in communion with Christians on earth. We are one body in Christ. We can ask any member of the body of Christ to pray for us. Yes we do think their prayers are more perfect than an earthly friend,s, because those in heaven have obtained their glorified bodies. They no longer suffer the burden of flesh. But anyone who has died in Christ can pray for you...as they continue to be one with us.

They can hear our prayers because they are no longer in the flesh. They are not limited by time and space as we are, they are the beings God created us to be. They live in glory with him, in heaven. They can add their prayers to ours.

The first intercession we see is the Wedding at Cana. Mary intercedes for others by asking Christ (for those giving the wedding) to take care of the problem that the wine is gone. At first Jesus refuses, but then does as his mother asks. He did this in response to her request.

We also see in during his ministry that people came to him on behalf of others. The woman who came to him asking that her daughter be healed from a demon. Jesus says to her: "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And her daughter was healed from that hour. Matt 15: 28. In Luke 7:11-17 we see Jesus raise a man from the dead because he has pity on the mother.

Also, we are told to "pray for each other" in James 5:16? The Apostle Paul suggests that Christians pray for him too (Rom. 1:9. 15, 30-31)

Here is a good article on understanding the intercession of Saints:

http://www.eastern-orthodoxy.com/intercession.htm

Particular saints are said to be the patrons of certain causes. This usually due to the way they died, or their particular causes in life. But you can ask anyone to intercede for you for any cause. You do not have to ask a saint, you do not have to ask a family member, in fact you do not have to ask anyone to pray for you ever. It is not required.

Asking a saint to intercede, or pray with you, is like pulling together a quorum ensuring that your prayer will be heard. Of course this is from my perspective, which is sometimes even more abstract in its interpretation than the Catholic churches. From the pragmatic perspective, it was much easier to convert people to Christianity from polytheistic religions if you could offer up something similar, without going against the Bible.

As I understand it, the belief is simply that God allows the saints in heaven to hear, or otherwise know (since "hearing" is obviously based on a physical sense) the requests for intercession. Those who dismiss the notion out of hand must not think this is something God is capable of if He wills it.

I'm assuming that since your question was directed to Catholics, you'll of course have the integrity to choose one of their answers for B/A even if you don't entirely agree with them, yes?

First of all we do not prayer to the saints we prayer to God. We ask the saints to prayer for us just as if I ask you to prayer for me. Not all things are in the bible we have sacred traditions also we do not live by the bible alone theory like most Protestants there is more to it. We believe in the communion of saints who are part of the church body.Sometimes I ask my dad to prayer for me and he has been dead for 25 years and I see nothing wrong with that.

We do not believe that they "relay" them to God. We do not ask them to go to God for us, we ask them for their prayers, like you would ask a friend or family member, in concurrence with ours. This is because we believe in the Communion of Saints, which is all members of the Body of Christ.

Prayer has many similar, but different meanings:

pray

   /preɪ/

–verb (used with object)

1. to offer devout petition, praise, thanks, etc., to (God or an object of worship).

2. to offer (a prayer).

3. to bring, put, etc., by praying: to pray a soul into heaven.

4. to make earnest petition to (a person).

5. to make petition or entreaty for; crave: She prayed his forgiveness.

6. to offer devout petition, praise, thanks, etc., to God or to an object of worship.

7. to enter into spiritual communion with God or an object of worship through prayer.

–verb (used without object)

8. to make entreaty or supplication, as to a person or for a thing.

When referring to God, you would pray by the definitions 1, 6, or 7

When referring to another person, you would pray by the definitions 4, 5, or 8.

Prayer does not equate to worship.

Romans 8:26-28

26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Revelation 5:8

When He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

Revelation 8:3-4

Another angel came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer; and much incense was given to him, so that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up before God out of the angel's hand.

I hope I helped!

Who did CHRIST tell us to pray to?

To answer your question, I am sure that a Catholic person will say they do not pray "to" a saint, but they ask for intercession, which of course is not necessary according to the Son of God.

For Catholics, saints are sort of a Heaven's lobby or broadcasting service.

They don't worship the saints. They ask them to lobby their god.

Just another senseless superstition.

They don't pray to the saints - they ask the saints to pray for them.

Christ taught to think of God as our heavenly Father....

there is NO intermediary between Father and Child. More on this original gospel is on my biography.

Also, if you want ot cut through all the confusion about how to pray... this will explain what Christ himself presented it: http://gospelenigma.com/

Oh yes and there are so so many of them.