Now all the gratuitous virtues flow from
grace, even as all the powers result from the essence of the soul; as
stated in the Second Part (I-II, Q. 110, A. 4, ad 1). Therefore all
the virtues are restored through Penance.

Reply Obj. 1: Penance restores the virtues in the same way as it
causes grace, as stated above (Q. 86, A. 1). Now it is a cause of
grace, in so far as it is a sacrament, because, in so far as it is a
virtue, it is rather an effect of grace. Consequently it does not
follow that penance, as a virtue, needs to be the cause of all the
other virtues, but that the habit of penance together with the habits
of the other virtues is caused through the sacrament of Penance.

Reply Obj. 2: In the sacrament of Penance human acts stand as matter,
while the formal power of this sacrament is derived from the power of
the keys. Consequently the power of the keys causes grace and virtue
effectively indeed, but instrumentally; and the first act of the
penitent, viz., contrition, stands as ultimate disposition to the
reception of grace, while the subsequent acts of Penance proceed from
the grace and virtues which are already there.

Reply Obj. 3: As stated above (Q. 86, A. 5), sometimes after the
first act of Penance, which is contrition, certain remnants of sin
remain, viz. dispositions caused by previous acts, the result being
that the penitent finds difficulty in doing deeds of virtue.
Nevertheless, so far as the inclination itself of charity and of the
other virtues is concerned, the penitent performs works of virtue
with pleasure and ease, even as a virtuous man may accidentally find
it hard to do an act of virtue, on account of sleepiness or some
indisposition of the body.
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SECOND ARTICLE [III, Q. 89, Art. 2]

Whether, After Penance, Man Rises Again to Equal Virtue?

Objection 1: It would seem that, after Penance, man rises again to
equal virtue. For the Apostle says (Rom. 8:28): "To them that love
God all things work together unto good," whereupon a gloss of
Augustine says that "this is so true that, if any such man goes
astray and wanders from the path, God makes even this conduce to his
good." But this would not be true if he rose again to lesser virtue.
Therefore it seems that a penitent never rises again to lesser virtue.

Obj. 2: Further, Ambrose says [*Cf. Hypognosticon iii, an anonymous
work falsely ascribed to St. Augustine] that "Penance is a very good
thing, for it restor