Since this week is a time when we remember the suffering of our God, Jesus Christ for us, it isn't the same as those the past 46 days.  The Church expect and order strict observance of spirituality in this week- some expectations are as follows-

Our Behavior Inside and Outside of Church

It is very noticeable that many people during this Week are one thing inside church and completely different outside.  In side church, black curtains, somber hymns, solemn readings, and concentrating on the suffering of Christ.  Outside of church, we often laugh, joke around, socialize, think and talk about many worldly issues.  We lose all the spiritual depth that we gained inside church.  Let us concentrate our thoughts, conversations, and meditations around the events of this holy week and the Passion of our Savior.

Retreat

During our regular fasting days, we proclaim the words of the bible before us, "Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly." (Joel 1:14).  How much more then should we apply this commandment during Holy Week?  This week should be characterized by solitude and retreat with God, by staying away from idle discussions and various means of entertainment of pleasure (like Movie, game...).  Reserve your time to God and to spiritual activities worthy of this week.

Asceticism

Whoever puts the suffering of Christ before him will not take any pleasure in eating and drinking or pampering the body.  But in order to succeed in pursuing asceticism, we must satisfy our souls with spiritual food so that it may thrive and overcome physical hunger.  It was customary for the Church to fast until at least the 9th hour on normal fasting days and until sunset during the Holy Week of Himmamat. This doesn't mean that you should fast until sunset, however you should definitely do more than what you were doing in the regular fasting days. Saint Athanasius even declared that this period of Holy Week should be received with "longer prayers, fasts, and vigils so that we may be able to anoint our lintels with precious blood and escape the destroyer." And again, the blessed saint says, "Let us thus engage in the holy fasts, as having been prescribed by Him, and by means of which we find the way to God."

Therefore, in order for Christ to live in us, we have to carry our cross and follow Him.  If you have a cross in your life, do not complaint about it.  Instead, rejoice in it and bear it for Christ's sake.  "for to you has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him but to suffer for His sake." (Philippians 1:29).

Spiritual Readings

Spiritual readings are also food for the soul.  The church has organized for us a treasure of appropriate readings for every day of the Holy Week, comprised of Gospel readings, Old Testament prophesies that correspond to the events of each day, spiritual explanations and sermons of the Church Fathers. For now,   you can start reading Psalm and the Gospels especially the chapters related to the crucifixion of our lord and Savoir Jesus Christ with this Holy Passion Week.

Hymns

The hymns of this Week are moving and full of spiritual depth.  Hymns, like reading, preserve the thought from wandering and guide it in spiritual direction.  We should continue to recite the hymns while walking, meditating, and resting.

Prayer

During this Holy Week the Church and every individual will pray intensively asking the Lord who bore the sins of the world and died for us, to forgive and have mercy upon us according to His great mercy.

Confession and Communion

During this week, each person must sit with himself and remember his sins and put them on Christ's shoulders and tell Him in shame, "Carry O Lord my sins too, with the sins of the rest of humanity.  Take my sins and nail them to the Cross with You, so that Your Blood may wipe them away!"

Look carefully at your sins and know that they are the cause of His crucifixion.  Many of us cry out of our sorrow for Christ's suffering while we crucify Him every day with our sins.  We should not feel sorry for Christ during this week, but should be sorry for our sins that caused Him these pains.  As Jesus told the women that were crying over Him, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not cry for Me, but cry for yourselves and your children." (Luke 23:28).

Before the Cross, we all stand as sinners, all under the condemnation.  "no one is righteous, not even one." (Psalm 14:3).  We confess our sins and prepare ourselves for communion.  There are two liturgies during Holy Week: on Passover Thursday and Easter Sunday.

Spiritual Storage

Semune Himamat is not an opportunity to benefit for a week only, but a time to store up spiritual nourishment enough to last the whole year, particularly needed during the 50 days after the Resurrection when there is no fasting.

Source: Pope Shenouda