C

calmative A substance used as a tranquilizer or
sedative in homeopathic and Ayurvedic medicine.

carminative A substance that relieves griping
(severe bowel pains) and intestinal gas.

Casey, the Reverand Solanus A Franciscan priest
of the Capuchin Order who has been credited as a
healer of hopeless cases. Born Bernard Casey on a
Wisconsin farm on November 25, 1870, Father
Solanus began working odd jobs at age 17 to sup-
plement the family’s income after they experienced
financial difficulties attributable to crop failures. At
21, however, he entered St. Francis Seminary High
School in Milwaukee, and in 1896 he was called to
the Capuchin Order, in which he was given the
name Solanus. Once ordained in 1904, Father
Solanus worked at Sacred Heart Parish in Yonkers,
New York, mainly as doorkeeper and sacristan
because he was not highly regarded for his scholar-
ship. But the sick and troubled of the parish began
to notice his gift for healing and made a point to ask
for his prayers for themselves and their loved ones.
He also worked at Our Lady of Sorrows in Manhat-
tan and Our Lady of the Angels in the city’s Harlem
section; at both parishes, Father Solanus made a last-
ing impression as a worker of miracles. Appointed to
the Capuchin Friary of St. Bonaventure in Detroit,
Michigan, in 1924, he became well known and was
the inspiration of the Detroit Capuchins to establish
their soup kitchen, still in operation today. He con-
tinued his ministry to the sick and the poor even
after he was sent for retirement to the Friary of St.
Felix in Huntington, Indiana, in 1946. When he
himself became ill, he returned to Detroit, where he
died July 31, 1957. His grave is located at Detroit’s
St. Bonaventure Monastery.
See also FAITH HEALING; PRAYER.

cathartic A substance used as a laxative.

caustic A substance capable of corroding or

burning bodily tissue.

Cayce, Edgar Known as “the sleeping prophet,” a

psychic (1877–1945) who in 1931 founded the

Association for Research and Enlightenment, Inc.

(A.R.E.), in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Cayce was a

photographer, gardener, Sunday School teacher,

and father of two. To date he is the subject of

approximately 12 biographies and is discussed in

more than 300 other books for his ability to enter a

sleeplike state, during which he gave information

to individuals throughout the world who had life-

threatening illnesses, questions, or problems.

Reports say Cayce would lie down on his couch,

fold his hands over his stomach, close his eyes, and,

with a person’s name and location provided to him,

offer answers to that person about his or her situa-

tion. Frequently he made a lifesaving diagnosis in

cases that stumped the medical community. A

stenographer would write as Cayce spoke, and one

copy of his “reading” was sent to the person and

another was kept in his personal files. The A.R.E.

holds more than 14,000 readings, which are made

available to the public for research. The readings—

considered sources of what is now called holistic, or

mind-body, medicine—are being studied by med-

ical professionals, theologians, educators, scientists,

and others, including a professor and fellow of the

American Physical Society who pointed out a con-

nection between the elementary-particle theory

and Cayce’s psychic access to information that

could not possibly have been available to him in a

conventional way.

According to the article “Sleeping prophet’s

legacy lives on in Virginia Beach,” by Victor Zak in

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