For over a decade, 20-somethings Mary Wilson and Kristin Firestone have participated as liturgical ministers for the annual January Respect Life Mass honoring the memory of all who have died from abortion the previous year.

They will be sharing their liturgical dancing and singing talents again at this year's Mass Jan. 19, 6 p.m., celebrated in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels with Cardinal Roger Mahony presiding and several auxiliary bishops concelebrating. The archdiocesan Respect Life Mass commemorates the anniversary of the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision legalizing abortion

Firestone, 28, a Chaminade High School campus minister, will serve as cantor, while Wilson, 23, a Bishop Alemany High School campus minister and dance teacher, will be one of the ten liturgical dancers.

"Prayer can be done in so many ways --- dance is a big part. I feel it draws people in," said Wilson, who began sharing her dance talents at a parish Respect Life Mass 12 years ago while she was an 11-year-old elementary student at St. Bernardine School in Woodland Hills.

For years, she has choreographed the event's liturgical dances, which include an opening prelude and candle meditation ceremony commemorating the estimated number of babies who lost their life due to abortion in an average 24-hour period in Los Angeles. Last year, 157 lit candles were placed on the altar. Many of the dancers, like Wilson, return annually to visibly witness their pro-life beliefs.

"It keeps evolving" as the dancers mature into young adults, said Wilson, who received a bachelor's degree in dance from Cal State University, Long Beach in 2006. Ten years ago, the dancers were primarily junior high and high school students. Now, eight-out-of-ten participants are college age with a couple of high school students.

Student dance participants attend several local colleges, including Loyola Marymount University, Harvey Mudd, Pierce and Moorpark as well as Louisville and Chaminade High Schools.

"They really love being involved. It's become a part of them now," said Wilson. The dancers' white garments are accented with pink and blue ribbons. "Every year I get touched by the number of abortions that happen," said Wilson.

Firestone, who has been a member of participating St. Bernardine's Shantigarh choir since it was founded in the mid-'90s by liturgical musician and composer John Bonaduce, says the annual pro-life event represents "the loudest, most prominent [local] voice on Respect Life issues."

But, she emphasizes, the Mass is not a political event but a remembrance of abortion's victims. "I think it's important to commemorate in a peaceful way the lives lost in abortion," said Firestone. The LMU sociology graduate also finds the annual Mass a time to reflect on abortion's impact on women, including friends she has known "who still struggle with the decision they made to have an abortion."

She remembers being deeply moved one year when a speaker who had been adopted told her story at the Respect Life Mass. "That grabbed me early on," said Firestone. For her, the annual Mass is a "beautiful way to pray for peace and clarity" about the gift of life.