Welcome to Brick & Bread: A Safe Space for Catholic Femininity
a place for real conversations, holy questions, and hard-won hope.
Unpolished. Unfiltered. Unafraid.
Hey friend,
I’m so glad you’re here. Really.
If you were sitting across from me right now—on a slightly stained couch with Legos underfoot and coffee that’s been reheated twice—I’d probably start by saying something like this:
“This space is going to be a little bit of everything, because real life is a little bit of everything.”
That’s what Brick & Bread is about.
It’s not a blog with one tidy theme, and it’s definitely not a place for polished perfection. I don’t have a formula. I don’t have 5-step guides for healing or 10 secrets to a perfect marriage. What I do have is a deep love for Jesus, a profound respect for Catholic truth, and a whole lot of hard-won honesty from living in a body and a heart that haven't always felt lovable.
I’m a wife, a mom of three, and a woman who has spent years untangling lies I believed about myself: that I was too much, too loud, too emotional, too awkward, too flawed—especially in how I looked. And yet, slowly, through the faith I almost dismissed, and the grace I never expected, I’ve started to rebuild.
Brick by brick. Bread by bread.
Starting this blog was a New Year’s resolution—but not the kind you abandon by February. It came out of a deep, restless ache I couldn’t shake: the sense that someone out there might feel the same kind of hopelessness I once did. That someone might be scrolling through the noise, just looking for a voice that understands. This space is my way of reaching out—because I remember what it was like to feel alone in the ache, and I don’t want you to stay there.
Why this blog?
Because I believe in sacred spaces that feel like real life.
Because I believe theology should live in your kitchen, not just your bookshelf.
Because I believe women are hungry—not just for advice, but for truth with tenderness.
I’ll be writing about all kinds of things here: Catholic moral teaching, body image, marriage, prayer, sexuality, therapy, raising kids, the culture we’re swimming in, our feminine identity, the ache for healing, and how to follow Jesus when your heart still limps a little.
Some days, the posts might feel really structured. Other times, they’ll feel like a friend texting you something they’re wrestling with or something they just realized while unloading the dishwasher. That’s intentional. Because that’s how real friendship works—unscripted, unfiltered, and faithful.
This blog began as a kind of lifeline. At first, just a whisper in prayer. But the more I sat with it, the more it felt like a calling—to offer something raw and real to women who are weary of pretending.
This isn’t a brand. It’s a conversation.
And you’re invited into all of it.
A word on the name...
Brick & Bread came to me in prayer, when I was thinking about what we really need to live well.
We need brick: the strong, immovable truths of our faith—the kind that can hold the weight of our lives.
And we need bread: the grace and gentleness that nourishes us daily—the kind that reminds us we’re loved even before we improve.
I want this blog to be both.
Solid. Tender. Unshakably Catholic. Unfailingly human.
So, welcome. Come as you are. Let’s be honest here. Let’s think deeply, laugh loudly, and seek holiness together—even if it’s messy. Especially if it’s messy.
This blog won’t be perfect. But it will be real.
And you are so welcome in this space.
With love and a sink full of dishes,
Claire Elise Bennett, PhD
Wife, Mother, Counselor, Daughter of the Church
