A pot of basil

Father Z reminded us to get basil blessed today and go to his blog for a great history of that custom. I got the communal pot of basil blessed this morning.  In the meantime, I share here one of my favourite paintings of William Holman Hunt, Isabella and the Pot of Basil, which is connected to a poem of John Keat's and an ancient story from Boccaccio's The Decameron, (IV, 5), which is you have not read either, you should.