"Conversing with" and/or visiting the grave of someone who has passed away

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“By this Holy Water and by Thy Precious Blood, wash away my sins O Lord.” is the version I use.
 
Pray for the Poor Souls in Purgatory who suffer the most and have no one to pray for them!
 
This is somewhat how I understood it. However, as I read your explanation, a thought occurred to me. You said saying “I prayed to St. Joseph” is equivalent to “I asked St. Joseph to pray for me.” We wouldn’t ever say that about a living person. For example, I would never say, “I prayed to my wife.” I would say, “I asked my wife to pray for me.”
 
We don’t say it now because the word “pray” has become used only in a religious context. As late as maybe 150 years ago, the word “pray” meant “ask” or “request”. "I pray thee, " or “Prithee” was something you’d say to your wife when asking her to do something. Like “I pray thee, please write every day”. The expression “pray tell” also persisted well into the 1900s and some people like me who enjoy old fashioned language still use it. “And who did you vote for, pray tell?”

Praying in the traditional meaning of the word is making a request. You can easily request the help of saints to pray to God for you, i.e. make a request on your behalf.
 
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