TEMECULA -- Thoughts filled with memories of times shared, flashes of overwhelming emotion, a relentless longing deep inside -- in many ways the sensations experienced when a love is lost are as powerful as when love is found.

Unfortunately, while found love brings bliss, when it is lost it summons the deepest of pain.

When there are no answers to why or how a life is taken, sometimes the only thing that can be done is to illuminate the memories.

"Death is kind of an eye-opener," said Linda Mejia, an organizer of the vigil who knows the anguish of losing a loved one first-hand.

"Until you've actually experienced it, you kind of gloss over it, but those of us who have been through it understand the significance of loving the person that you're with," she said. "Because you never know -- in one moment, life can change. In the twinkle of an eye they're here and they're gone."

The ninth annual "Remembering Those We've Loved and Lost" candlelight vigil will be held at 5 p.m. Saturday at the plaza in The Promenade mall in Temecula. Canned food will also be collected to benefit military families.

The vigil, intended as an opportunity for area residents to commemorate those they've lost, will feature musical performances by the choirs of Mountain View Community and Rancho Community churches, both of Temecula, poetry readings and a special military tribute.

And this year brings a new feature: Representatives from the U.S. Marine Corps and Army will offer inspirational words, and will read the names of the fallen military members from Riverside and San Diego counties. The reading of names will be followed by a bugler performing taps.

Vigil participants will be invited to light a candle in remembrance of someone in their lives who has died, and are encouraged to bring blankets or lawn chairs to sit on.

Eric Howe, a retired Marine, will for the first time be in charge of publicly calling out the names of the fallen servicemen and servicewomen. Though he's accustomed to speaking in public, Howe, who lost friends to battles in the ongoing war in Iraq, said his reading of the more than 50 names during the vigil will have a profound effect on some in the audience.

"Anything I can do on my part to remind (people) that everything we have over here is because they're over there fighting for it," Howe said. "And sometimes we forget that."

Another speaker, David Barragan, a former Marine, will also stand that evening in his capacity as a representative for Operation Military Assistance -- a Calvary Chapel organization that aims to help service members and their families before, during and after overseas deployments.

"There's no easy way when you lose someone, whether it's in combat or not," Barragan said. "But hopefully you have a good faith base and a good fellowship of people who you can lean on."

Mejia too will be grieving that evening. The Murrieta code enforcement officer lost her son 12 years ago to a cancerous tumor that had reached the boy's spinal cord. Though at first she said she felt lost when her son died, the best way she's been able to find herself, she said, has been through counseling others who are experiencing a loss.

"I really kind of found out that when you get up out of your own misery and sadness and you help others, it's like a supernatural healing; it washes your soul," Mejia said. "I thought, 'Oh my gosh, wouldn't it be good if we could do a candlelight (vigil) here for our families who are still at that holiday table and there's that empty chair."

Contact staff writer Nelsy Rodriguez at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2626, or nrodriguez@californian.com.

Candlelight vigil

The ninth annual "Remembering Those We've Loved and Lost" candlelight vigil and canned food drive is being held this weekend.

- When: 5 p.m. Saturday

- Where: The outside plaza at The Promenade mall in Temecula, 40820 Winchester Road.

- More info: E-mail lindamejia88@yahoo.com.