Sometimes the course of one’s entire life is determined by a solitary incident—some kind of defining moment that changes everything.

Mary’s decision to anoint Jesus’ body for burial on the third day after his death was just such a moment. When she arrived, she found that his body was not there. She went and told the others. They came to believe that he had been raised from the dead.

And so Christianity started…

Despite her relative unimportance during Jesus’ life, Mary Magdalene was the most important figure immediately after his death. She was more important than Peter, James, or John. She was the first to believe Jesus had been raised.

from Peter, Paul and Mary Magdalene