I no longer self-describe as an Anglo-Catholic, although I probably fit the definition as well as any other person who identifies that way. Praying to the saints is not really in accord with the most natural and plain reading of the Articles, but how one thinks about this issue depends how she evaluates the authority of the Articles in the context of the rest of church history and tradition. I think there was perhaps one Anglican divine in the seventeenth century who advocated praying to saints (though I'm not sure if he actually did it himself). I cannot currently find his name however. With perhaps that one exception this was not something Anglicans did since Anglicanism settled into its Protestant identity. The practice was revived among a minority of us later on. The Prayer Book which interprets the Articles contains no prayer to saints except for perhaps one on Ash Wednesday prayer in the 1979 BCP: ...We confess to you and to one another, and to the whole communion of saints in heaven... Since the 1979 prayer book is accepted only by one province and only in recent history it cannot however claim a very high authority for interpreting the Articles or Anglican tradition, and while this prayer includes the saints in heaven it is addressed first of all to the Father, not to any particular saint.
I was first exposed to Catholic theology and devotion in the abstract but liturgically I first experienced more or less high Anglican liturgy. I learned the Rosary from Catholic friends with whom I often prayed, so that was a big part of my devotion. Over time I've become more Anglican I suppose. I'm more likely to pray the 1928 Daily Office, the litanies in the prayer book, or use a chotki or Anglican Rosary as I find visual meditation such as that found in the Rosary distracting. I prefer to focus on the words I'm praying themselves instead of a meditation and then sink into myself and become still. When I say prayers on beads it will often consist of phrases from the prayer book or scripture and I incorporate psalms into many of my devotions. I do still sometimes say an occasional Hail Mary as it is known in Roman Catholicism, and I pray to saints every day, but my attitude to prayer is quite different in feel from most Catholics I've known. It's hard to explain, but it's colored by the BCP which is more sober in tone and not very sentimental. In a way I find the tone of Orthodox prayer books and their long flowing prayers more familiar when I have said them with Orthodox than many Roman devotions except of course that many of the prayers do directly invoke saints unlike the prayer book, yet many are addressed straight to God asking for saints' intercession which is not as problematic from an evangelical Anglican view I'd think.
Also unlike many (but not all) Catholics I am as likely to ask my deceased grandmother or other deceased person who taught me the faith for their prayers or create a shrine for them as I am the Blessed Virgin. This practice is more common among my Orthodox friends.
A small minority in my parish pray to saints or angels, but every priest I've had has actively encouraged me to do so and shared resources with me, even those who were mostly of an evangelical bent. The only priests I've known of who discouraged it were two liberal women priests who I didn't know well and weren't part of my parish, but I'm not sure what their objection was. One of them wouldn't even refer to the Sacrament as Christ's Body (it's Christ's "story") so I didn't take her seriously and all we did was argue about everything anyway. But some priests do object to it based on the traditional formularies and the fact that the practice is not found in scripture.
Since I've become more exposed to the Catholic Church itself, its liturgy, and regular members I'd say that the feel of my prayer life and thinking is very different from all of that even though I still pray to saints. I don't really mind that most Anglicans do not pray to saints, but I do get the sense from Catholics I've known that their sense of the communion of the saints is very palpable and this was true even of those who were poorly informed of their faith. I've gotten the sense from many Protestants that they lack something in this regard, although not quite as much among Episcopalians. I think perhaps it would be good to encourage Anglicans to ask God directly for saints' intercessions to emphasize this mystery of Christian life, but if this is divisive I wouldn't push it myself. E.J. Bicknell was an evangelical Anglican that found this practice acceptable and in accord with the understanding of the primitive church and compatible with the Articles.
