e priest is the minister of the Sacrament of Extreme Unction.

Q. 976. What is the final preparation we should make for the reception
of the last Sacraments?
A. The final preparation we should make for the reception of the last
Sacraments consists in an earnest effort to be resigned to God's Holy
Will, to excite ourselves to true sorrow for our sins, to profit by the
graces given us, to keep worldly thoughts from the mind, and to dispose
ourselves as best we can for the worthy reception of the Sacraments and
the blessings of a good death.

Q. 977. At what time should persons dangerously ill attend to the final
arrangement of their temporal or worldly affairs?
A. Persons dangerously ill should attend to the final arrangement of
their temporal or worldly affairs at the very beginning of their
illness, that these things may not distract them at the hour of death,
and that they may give the last hours of their life entirely to the care
of their soul.

Q. 978. {278} What is the Sacrament of Holy Orders?
A. Holy Orders is a Sacrament by which bishops, priests, and other
ministers of the Church are ordained and receive the power and grace to
perform their sacred duties.

Q. 979. Besides bishops and priests, who are the other ministers of the
Church?
A. Besides bishops and priests, the other ministers of the Church are
deacons and sub-deacons, who, while preparing for the priesthood, have
received some of the Holy Orders, but who have not been ordained to the
full powers of the priest.

Q. 980. Why is this Sacrament called Holy Orders?
A. This Sacrament is called Holy Orders because it is conferred by seven
different grades or steps following one another in fixed order by which
the sacred powers of the priesthood are gradually given to the one
admitted to that holy state.

Q. 981. What are the grades by which one ascends to the priesthood?
A. The grades by which one ascends to the priesthood are (1) Tonsure, or
the clipping of the hair by the bishop, by which the candidate for
priesthood dedicates himself to the service of the altar; (2) The four
minor orders, Porter, Reader, Exorcist, and Acolyte, by which he is
permitted to perform certain duties that laymen should not perform; (3)
Sub-deaconship, by which he takes upon himself the obligation of leading
a life of perpetual chastity and of saying daily the divine office; (4)
Deaconship, by which he receives power to preach, baptize, and give Holy
Communion. The next s